The House Turns a New Leaf on Colombia!
June 22, 2007

WE DID IT! After many years of advocating for change, we are thrilled to tell you the
positive new approach to Colombia has been approved by the full House of
Representatives. With all of your calls to the Congress, those who supported the old
approach decided against offering an amendment since they did not have the votes to turn
back the clock.

The foreign aid bill cuts military aid to Colombia by $30 million while greatly increasing
aid for poor farmers and victims. For example, Afro-Colombian and indigenous
communities will receive $15 million in development aid planned in consultation with
these communities.

The aid package aims to strengthen respect for human rights by providing judicial
institutions with the resources they need to investigate abuses and collaboration with
paramilitaries. Human rights conditions will now apply to 40 percent, not just 25 percent,
of military aid in the bill.

Given the failure of aerial spraying to curb coca cultivation by even a single hectare in
seven years, the House has also sensibly reduced funding for spray planes used to
fumigate farms and increased aid for small farmers. It's not perfect…but it's a huge step
in the right direction!

Earlier this month Rep. Jim McGovern introduced H. RES. 426, which calls attention to
the many Colombians forced to flee their homes because of violence and recommends an
increase in aid to internally displaced persons. Follow this link to read the resolution.
Because of your hard work, 34 representatives have already signed on to this important
resolution! Click here to find out if your representative is on board. If not, we ask you to
call and urge them to support H. RES. 426 for displaced persons in Colombia. The
resolution could come to the House foreign affairs committee early next week. Take
action now!

Jesuit Refugee Service has recently launched The Refugee Voice, a project that features
testimonies from refugees and analysis of the underlying causes of displacement. The
stories of twelve displaced families from Colombia are featured this month. You can read
their testimonies here.

For more details on the aid package, follow this link to an analysis by the Center for
International Policy.

Also, make sure to thank the Chair of the House Foreign Operations Appropriations
Subcommittee, Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, for her strong leadership in support of a
new approach in aid to Colombia. Send a thank you to: The Honorable Nita Lowey, U.S.
House of Representative Washington, DC 20515.